Neck News and Research

RSS

Cs-131 brachytherapy seed implant can treat metastasized cancer

IsoRay, Inc. announced today another milestone in the use of Cesium-131 (Cs-131) brachytherapy seeds (internal radiation therapy). Doctors at a world renowned medical facility have performed the world's first Cs-131 brachytherapy seed implant following a wedge resection of a lung tumor which originated from a form of malignant uterine cancer. Initially used to treat primary cancers, Cs-131 seeds are now being used to treat metastasized cancer.

7 Oct 2010

Vaccine improves survival of glioblastoma patients in phase II clinical trial: Researchers

A vaccine that turns the immune system against brain tumor cells bearing a genetic mutation that drives the most aggressive form of glioblastoma multiforme improved survival of patients in a phase II clinical trial, researchers at Duke University and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

7 Oct 2010

Odd foreign bodies removed from patients

Sermo, the world's largest online community for physicians, today announced its weekly hot topic. Of over 200 physician respondents to an online poll and discussion, 85% said they have removed odd foreign bodies from patients.

6 Oct 2010

AOA launches 'Break Through Your Pain' public education campaign

If you're living in pain, you're certainly not alone. According to a new survey released today by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) nearly 70% of Americans report that they, or someone they care for, have experienced pain during the past 30 days. While Congress declared 2000 to 2010 the "Decade of Pain Control and Research," chronic, or reoccurring pain still affects more Americans than cancer, diabetes and heart disease combined. In fact, more than 76 million people live in pain every day.

6 Oct 2010

Xeomin botulinum toxin for cervical dystonia now available in the U.S.

Merz Pharmaceuticals today announced that Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA), a new botulinum toxin type A for the treatment of adults with cervical dystonia (CD)or blepharospasm, is now commercially available in the U.S. XEOMIN was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 30, 2010.

6 Oct 2010

Merck Serono to present Erbitux data at ESMO Congress

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany announces today that it will be presenting new data from several studies of Erbitux (cetuximab) in a range of solid tumor types including the first Phase II data in breast and prostate cancers. These data will be presented at the forthcoming 35th European Society for Medical Oncology Congress (ESMO) in Milan, October 8-12, 2010.

5 Oct 2010

American Heart Association addresses the use of arteriotomy closure devices

Re-opening a blocked heart artery isn't the only procedure that concerns doctors when they thread instruments through an opening in a thigh artery and into a heart artery. Closing up the thigh artery is also a concern.

5 Oct 2010

Classical singing compared to traditional Indian singing to find treatment for speech disorder

Hindustani singing, a North Indian traditional style of singing, and classical singing, such as the music of Puccini, Mozart and Wagner, vary greatly in technique and sound. Now, speech-language pathology researchers at the University of Missouri are comparing the two styles in hopes of finding a treatment for laryngeal tremors, a vocal disorder associated with many neurological disorders that can result in severe communication difficulties.

5 Oct 2010

NY Times: DEA crackdown means delays for some patients in need of pain meds

The New York Times: Increased scrutiny by the Drug Enforcement Administration may be causing painful delays for patients who need narcotic drugs. "Roland Lorenz has surgical screws in his back and neck and a pin in his upper leg, and when his pain reared up one recent weekend, he knew he needed something strong.

4 Oct 2010

Shoulder pain costs American health system $7 billion

25 out of 1,000 visits to the family doctor are related to shoulder pain. This is currently the cause of 13% of sick leaves, and it costs the American health system 7 billion dollars.

1 Oct 2010

Research shows dexamethasone treatment effective for bacterial meningitis

New research shows that an intravenous (IV) treatment may cut a person's risk of dying from bacterial meningitis. The research is published in the September 29, 2010, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The treatment is called dexamethasone.

30 Sep 2010

Breakthrough neuroblastoma treatment

According to a new study the addition of an experimental immunotherapy drug to the standard regimen of care extended the lives and decreased the risk of a disease recurrence in children with high-risk neuroblastoma. This tumor most frequently originates in one of the adrenal glands, but can also develop in nerve tissues in the neck, chest, abdomen, or pelvis. It forms 12 percent of cancer-related deaths in children under the age of 15 and half of patients with this type of malignancy have the high-risk form.

29 Sep 2010

Unique genetic markers point to patient response to SCV-07 treatment

SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCLN) today announced that researchers have identified two unique gene clusters that differentiated subjects who responded to treatment in the Company’s phase 2a proof of concept study of SCV-07 for the prevention of severe oral mucositis (OM; WHO grades 3-4) in patients with advanced head and neck cancer.

29 Sep 2010

Children younger than 5 years account for over half of bathtub- and shower-related injuries

Bathtubs and showers are frequently associated with injuries to children. Although interventions have been initiated to prevent injuries due to submersions and hot water scalds, little attention has been paid to slips, trips and falls, which account for more than 80 percent of bathtub- and shower-related injuries.

29 Sep 2010

IsoRay reports increase revenue for 2010 fiscal year

IsoRay Inc. a medical isotope company and the exclusive manufacturer of Cesium-131 used in internal radiation therapy for the treatment of lung, colon, head and neck, and prostate cancers, ocular melanoma, and other malignant disease through the use of its proprietary radioisotope technology, announced its financial results for the year ended June 30, 2010.

28 Sep 2010

Acclarent's new technologies improve visualization during sinus surgery

Acclarent, Inc., a leader in minimally-invasive sinus surgery, today announced the introduction of two new technologies designed to improve visualization during sinus surgery The Acclarent Cyclops Multi-Angle Endoscope and the Relieva Luma Sentry Sinus Illumination System.

28 Sep 2010

TONES procedure is safe and effective for treating brain diseases, traumatic injuries

Surgeons at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and University of Washington Medical Center have determined that transorbital neuroendoscopic surgery is a safe and effective option for treating a variety of advanced brain diseases and traumatic injuries. This groundbreaking minimally invasive surgery is performed through the eye socket, thus eliminating the removal of the top of the skull to access the brain.

27 Sep 2010

Researchers find no correlation between genetic ancestry and cancer stage

Head and neck cancer outcomes associated with race may be more closely linked to social and behavioral factors than biological differences, especially for African Americans, according to a new Henry Ford Hospital study.

27 Sep 2010

Researchers synthesize molecule to block abnormal protein in cancer cells

In the quest to arrest the growth and spread of tumors, there have been many attempts to get cancer genes to ignore their internal instruction manual. In a new study, a team led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists has created the first molecule able to prevent cancer genes from "hearing" those instructions, stifling the cancer process at its root.

27 Sep 2010

Synthetic lethality boosts effectiveness of molecularly targeted therapies against tumors

Molecularly targeted therapies can reduce tumors rapidly. However, not all tumors respond to the drugs, and even those that do often develop resistance over time. Looking for a way to combat the problem of resistance, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center hypothesized that hitting already weakened cancer cells with a second targeted agent could kill them-but only if it was the right second agent.

22 Sep 2010